The Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) together with Hospital del Mar has certified the use of contrast mammography-guided breast biopsy to find suspicious lesions that cannot be seen with ultrasound or mammography. The results are similar or better than those obtained with MRI-guided biopsy, the other technique used, but faster.
The technique, in which Hospital del Mar is a world leader, requires a contrast that highlights the tumor tissues, facilitating the identification of the lesioned area to be biopsied. Incorporated by Hospital del Mar in 2019, the study to validate its use has involved 64 women.
“This technique has the potential to be an alternative to MRI-guided biopsy” Rodrigo Alcántara, IMIM-Hospital del Mar
The results show a success rate of 95.4%, a figure comparable to that of magnetic resonance imaging, which has a success rate between 87 and 98%. In addition, contrast mammography offers a great advantage: it reduces the test time from 35-41 minutes to only 15 minutes.
Rodrigo Alcántara, a physician in charge of the Breast Radiology section of the Radiology Service of the Hospital del Mar, concludes that “more studies are needed to compare the two tools in order to analyze patient preferences and cost-effectiveness”.
Alcantara, R., Posso, M., Pitarch, M. et al. Contrast-enhanced mammography-guided biopsy: technical feasibility and first outcomes. Eur Radiol (2022). doi.org/10.1007/s00330-022-09021-w
